Is there stability in the performance of elite half-marathoners?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance stability of elite half-marathoners of both sexes. The study was composed of 24 elite athletes (12 female and 12 male), ranked among the Senior World TOP20 half-marathoners, who completed a half-marathon race for at least three consecutive years. Tracking was tested using autocorrelations and Kappa Cohen. Autocorrelation revealed a significant association, but a decrease in correlation among the years in both sexes. The overall weighted kappa showed lower stability in performance for both sexes (K ​= ​0.191 and K ​= ​−0.245) than for males. These findings suggest that both female and male elite half-marathoners showed low stability in performance during three events. Besides that, athletes with a better performance tended to present the highest performance stability. It is recommended that coaches track the developmental trajectories of the athletes to comprised the changes in performance across the years, as to provide environmental characteristics that can influence performance.

Keywords

Tracking / Endurance / Running / Elite athletes

References

[[1]] X. Yan, I. Papadimitriou, R. Lidor, et al.. Nature versus nurture in determining athletic ability. Med Sport Sci, 61 ( 2016), pp. 15-28, DOI: 10.1159/000445238

[[2]] J.A. Bragada, P.J. Santos, J.A. Maia, et al.. Longitudinal study in 3,000 m male runners: relationship between performance and selected physiological parameters. J Sports Sci Med, 1 (9) ( 2010), pp. 439-444

[[3]] S.P. Messier, D.F. Martin, S.L. Mihalko, et al.. A 2-year prospective cohort study of overuse running injuries: the runners and injury longitudinal study (TRAILS). Am J Sports Med, 46 (9) ( 2018), pp. 2211-2221, DOI: 10.1177/0363546518773755

[[4]] S.C. Winter, S. Gordon, S.M. Brice, et al.. A multifactorial approach to overuse running injuries: a 1-year prospective study. Sport Health, 12 (3) ( 2020), pp. 296-303, DOI: 10.1177/1941738119888504

[[5]] A. Uthoff, J. Oliver, J. Cronin, et al.. A new direction to athletic performance: understanding the acute and longitudinal responses to backward running. Sports Med, 48 (5) ( 2018), pp. 1083-1096, DOI: 10.1007/s40279-018-0877-5

[[6]] A.M. Jones. A five year physiological case study of an Olympic runner. Br J Sports Med, 32 (1) ( 1998), pp. 39-43, DOI: 10.1136/bjsm.32.1.39

[[7]] D. Freitas, J. Maia, M. Stasinopoulos, et al.. Biological and environmental determinants of 12-minute run performance in youth. Ann Hum Biol, 44 (7) ( 2017), pp. 607-613, DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2017.1355410

[[8]] R.M. Malina. Tracking of physical activity and physical fitness across the lifespan. Res Q Exerc Sport, 6 (3 Suppl) ( 1996), pp. S48-S57, DOI: 10.1080/02701367.1996.10608853

[[9]] M.C. Souza, C.L.M. Forjaz, J. Eisenmann, et al.. A noção de tracking e sua aplicação à Educação Física e ao Esporte. Rev Bras Cineantropom Desempenho Hum, 17 (3) ( 2015), pp. 337-346, DOI: 10.1590/1980-0037.2015v17n3p337

[[10]] C.J. Kowalski, E.D. Schneiderman. Tracking: concepts, methods and tools. Int J Anthropol, 7 (4) ( 1992), pp. 33-50, DOI: 10.1007/BF02447868

[[11]] R.M. Malina. Adherence to physical activity from childhood to adulthood : a perspective from tracking studies. Quest, 53 (3) ( 2001), pp. 346-355, DOI: 10.1080/00336297.2001.10491751

[[12]] D. Freitas, G. Beunen, J. Maia, et al.. Tracking of fatness during childhood, adolescence and young adulthood: a 7-year follow-up study in Madeira Island, Portugal. Ann Hum Biol, 39 (1) ( 2012), pp. 59-67, DOI: 10.3109/03014460.2011.638322

[[13]] P.T. Nikolaidis, S. Di Gangi, B. Knechtle. World records in half-marathon running by sex and age. J Aging Phys Activ, 26 (4) ( 2018), pp. 629-636, DOI: 10.1123/japa.2017-0394

[[14]] Tilastopaja.

[[15]] J.R. Landis, G.G. Koch. An application of hierarchical kappa-type statistics in the assessment of majority agreement among multiple observers. Biometrics, 33 (2) ( 1977), pp. 363-374

[[16]] P. Reaburn, B. Dascombe. Endurance performance in masters athletes. Eur Rev Aging Phys Act, 5 ( 2008), pp. 31-42, DOI: 10.1007/s11556-008-0029-2

[[17]] T. Romer, C. Rüst, M. Zingg, et al.. Age and ultra-marathon performance - 50 to 1,000 km distances from 1969-2012. SpringerPlus, 3 ( 2014), p. 693, DOI: 10.1186/2193-1801-3-693

[[18]] M. Thuany, T.N. Gomes, T. Rosemann, et al.. No trends in the age of peak performance among the best Half-marathoners and marathoners in the world between 1997-2020. Medicina (Kaunas), 57 (5) ( 2021), p. 409, DOI: 10.3390/medicina57050409

[[19]] S. Allen, W.G. Hopkins. Age of peak competitive performance of elite athletes: a systematic review. Sports Med, 45 (10) ( 2015), pp. 1431-1441, DOI: 10.1007/s40279-015-0354-3

[[20]] P.E. Kearney, P.R. Hayes. Excelling at youth level in competitive track and field athletics is not a prerequisite for later success. J Sports Sci, 36 (21) ( 2018), pp. 2502-2509, DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2018.1465724

[[21]] G. Boccia, P. Moisè, A. Franceschi, et al.. Career performance trajectories in track and field jumping events from youth to senior success: the importance of learning and development. PLoS One, 12 (1) ( 2021), p. e0170744, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170744

[[22]] R. Hristovski, N. Balague, B. Daskalovski, et al.. Linear and nonlinear complex systems approach to sports. Explanatory differences and applications. Pesh, 1 (1) ( 2012), pp. 25-31

[[23]] R.K. Merton. Social Theory and Social Structure. The Free Press, New York ( 1968)

[[24]] R. Rosenthal, L. Jacobson. Pygmalion in the classroom. Urban Rev, 3 ( 1968), pp. 16-20

[[25]] N. Durand-Bush, J.H. Salmela. The development and maintenance of expert athletic performance: perceptions of world and olympic champions. J Appl Sport Psychol, 14 (3) ( 2002), pp. 154-171, DOI: 10.1080/10413200290103473